Product Photography Setup: Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners
Product photos are considered the voice of the brand. Beautiful photos with a unique style will help customers visualize the product clearly and have sympathy for the business. Therefore, investing in images is always the right thing to do. For that reason, in the following article, we will guide you on how to set up product photography beautiful, simple, and economical.
Set up the product background
You should use a white product photography background because it can be easily removed when editing your images. If you don't have a product photography turntable, you can create one with a chair that you have in your home or office. Use a clip to fix a white sheet of paper on the chair to make a product photography background so that the paper is located naturally onto the chair, creating a seamless transition between the vertical and horizontal planes.
If you don't have a dedicated photo booth, you can create your own in the following way:
You need a square plastic box without a lid as a product photography prop.
Then, stick some white paper or white cloth on the bottom and sides to create diffusion, helping to distribute light better, minimizing unnecessary shadows when placing the product inside.
Depending on your budget, you can use artificial lights and place them on either side of the product photography box. You can also take advantage of natural light by placing your light box next to a large window.
Choosing the right product photography layout
In the ways to take beautiful product photos, it is important to make sure you place your product in front of the backdrop and on a flat, stable surface. Once you have enough light, you are almost ready to shoot.
If you are shooting jewelry, it is best to use a product photography accessory such as a bust. If you do not have the budget, you can use a piece of cardboard as a product photography background.
There are 03 popular types of layouts as follows:
Center layout
This is the simplest layout, you just need to place the product in the center of the frame, adjust the camera angle to the front, and start shooting.
This layout helps viewers focus on the product. The minimalism in the frame also easily impresses. However, you should not only apply this layout to the entire photo because it will make customers feel bored.
1/3 layout
Imagine the photo frame will be divided into 9 parts, 3 horizontal parts, and 3 vertical parts.
Then, the 4 intersection points are the focal point of the photo. When taking a photo, place the product at 1 of the 4 points or place it along the line connecting 2 points. You can easily adjust this ratio when using the grid function of the Camera on mobile.
Symmetrical layout
You will place the product in the center of the frame and show the symmetry on both sides of the product. For example, place the product in the water or in front of a mirror. This layout gives the photo depth, makes it more artistic, and easily attracts the eye.
Tips for composing product photos for difficult products
Here are some tips for composing product photos for difficult products:
Use glue or tape to hold small items in place.
For clothing, it’s best to use a product photography prop like a mannequin or a stand that can be easily removed.
For background photography, you can ask a model to dress in the clothes and pose simply.
If you’re shooting large items, like furniture, you’ll need a product photography backdrop with a stand. But you can also create your own by taking a large piece of paper and taping it to the wall.
Lighting
If there’s one factor that will determine the quality of your images, it’s lighting. When set up correctly, it can produce beautiful results and simplify your post-processing. You have two options:
Natural Light
When on a budget, you should use natural light. Start by placing your table near a large window, ideally one that gets a lot of light. If the light is too harsh, you can correct it by placing a piece of white cloth or paper over the window.
If there are a lot of shadows, use white plasterboard or cardboard on either side of the subject, which will help reflect the light and soften it. The trick to good product photography is that it is best to shoot in the morning when the sun is not too harsh.
Studio Lights
If you must use artificial light, you will need at least two lights to create the right shadows. One of the two lights will be the main light and the other will be the backlight, depending on your desired result. You will need some props, such as white paper or cloth to diffuse the light, helping to create softer shadows.
Your main light should be placed in front, usually slightly to one side of the product, while the backlight is on the opposite side, behind or above. Adjust the distance of the light until you get soft and evenly distributed shadows.
You can also use white plasterboard or cardboard to reduce the light and make the shadows softer. With this function, Studio lights allow you to control the whole process, no longer depending on natural light.
Set up a tripod
A tripod provides stability when shooting. It is easy to get blurry images when trying to focus on the entire product while holding the camera in your hand. If you do not have a tripod, when setting up, you should use a stack of books or a stool to keep your camera steady.
The trick to taking great product photos is that if you are using a camera, set it to a low aperture and slow shutter speed. That way, you will get a wide depth of field, keeping your entire product in focus. It makes your product look sharp. It is important to stabilize your camera when shooting with a wide depth of field to avoid blurry images.
Set up your product camera
This is an important factor when setting up your product photography. Using a DSLR product camera is the right choice. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Don't use a wide-angle lens. You will distort your product.
Use the right aperture to get the right shot. A wide aperture like f2.8 or f4.5 will narrow your depth of field, making parts of your product out of focus. A small aperture like f8 or f11 will give you a wider depth of field, keeping your entire product sharp.
Use the correct white balance. When shooting, you should set it to the same temperature as the light source.
However, if you are using a phone, you don’t need to worry about investing in a camera. The camera technology on your phone can sometimes take better photos than using a professional camera. So, as long as you adjust the lighting and background of your product photography properly, your phone will still produce good results.
Post-processing
For beginners, getting the background or adjusting the lighting requires a bit of trial and error. Thankfully, photo editing software can make countless errors disappear, helping you optimize your images quickly.
Editing software can help you remove backgrounds, adjust colors, recompose, remove mannequins, and add shadows for a more natural look. Editing photos is a time-consuming process, especially until you get the hang of it.
Fortunately, there are plenty of free photo editing tools available to serve all your photo optimization needs. Examples of free photo editing tools:
Mosyne - Effortless Background Removal & Inpainting Magic
Canva – User-friendly free online editor, best for marketing materials.
Fotor – Free, easy-to-use smartphone app.
Snapseed – Free, full-featured mobile app.
If you don't know how to do it, the following 10 steps are the basic process you can refer to:
Step 1: White Balance: increase and decrease temperature and color tone
Step 2: Exposure: adjust light and dark areas, restore lost details.
Step 3: Noise Reduction - Noise Reduction: edit on RAW files or use extension software.
Step 4: Lens Correction: distort images, blur image edges
Step 5: Detail: adjust sharpness.
Step 6: Contrast: adjust contrast and Curves tool.
Step 7: Framing: crop unnecessary image parts.
Step 8: Harmony: adjust overall color.
Step 9: Resize: increase or decrease the size to suit the posting platform.
Step 10: Output Sharpening – Final sharpening.
Finally, after much trial and error, once you have figured out how to take great product photos, create your own set of photography guidelines. This will maintain consistency as your business grows. Make sure you document all the little things, including the distance between the camera and the product, the angle, the lighting setup. A set of guidelines will not only save you money in the long run but will also save you a lot of time as you won’t have to repeat the setup process.
Conclusion
Remember, your product photos are essentially brand ambassadors and it’s important to stay consistent. By following this step-by-step guide, you can create stunning, high-quality product photography setups that effectively showcase your products and attract your audience.